I Can't Sit Still

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ok, so like most of you I have failed miserable in the past at cross training during my marathon training. It wasn’t because I didn’t plan on doing it, it wasn’t because I didn’t know what I had to do or why it was beneficial to my training….

It was because I never made it a priority and my running quality and injury list validated why I made such a big mistake. So this winter instead of training for a spring marathon (and ignoring my cross training) I have decided to ignore my long distance running and focus on my cross training.

Why am I doing this? Well I went from 280 pounds down to as low as 210 pounds then for the last 18-20 months I have hovered at 225-230 pounds regardless of how many miles I ran and what I ate. If I ate like crap one week and failed to run big miles I stayed at the same weight as when I did everything correct for diet and exercise right. What did this tell me, well my training levels had plateau as far as weight loss went and I needed to change things up if weight loss was my goal.

Well I have no visions are running behind the lead pack in a 5k or qualifying for Boston in the near future, especially if I stay at 225-230 pounds. What happens if I pull a Gordon (http://thisrunninglife.wordpress.com/) and get down to 180-190 pounds and then run my next marathon? Something tells me I might be able to more for my goal to run an enjoyable marathon (more on my definition of enjoyable to come later) if I loose the weight.

It has been tough for me to not have an 18 week training plan in play right now but I need to see if I focus on the cross training and diet can I break the plateau.

What am I doing then?

Using TRX for circuit training 3-4 times a week.

Go back to Kettlebells for strength and aerobic workouts.

Get back into the pool for ½ mile lap swims twice a week.

Crossfit to push my comfort and fitness levels.

What does my current workout plan look like?

I started the "100 Burpee Challenge" on January 1st and I am currently on Day 40, this challenge has you doing 1 Burpee on Day1, 2 on Day2, 3 on Day3, 40 on Day40 up till you do 100 on Day100. What is a burpee, well check this video out:

I also on a daily basis I try to get a 30 minute run each day.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do a 30-45 TRX Circuit

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I try to do a Crossfit workout

I try to get a 1/2 mile lap swim in on Tuesday and then one other day if possible

Sunday is my long aerobic workout day, so I try to get a 60+ minute SLOW run in or something comparable such as snowshoeing.

I wasn't lying when I said I can't sit still.

So here is my home gym, yes I know my garage is a mess but that didn't stop me from taking a picture to show you what tools I am using for my training.

Look beyond just running and sign up for a triathlon this summer.

If you are curious what the hell TRX is check out this short video:

Well more to come about cross training and what I am doing to change what I eat.

Tonight I am co hosting an episode about cross training on the Running Round Table at 8PM EST.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Ok, so first off if I go more then 3 days without at least a quick note please take a second and drop me a note reminding me that you are patiently waiting for me to write something.

So what do I want to accomplish with this Blog?

Here are my goals:

Entertain

Inform

Rant

Hold myself accountable by putting my goals out there for others to see and thus not let me back out of easily.

Make friends

What is in the name? Well anyone who knows me, knows that I have never and will never be able to sit still, I just can't do it. Thus what I do with my excess energy and over active mind is my gift to use to shape my life into what i want. I could be someone who can't sit still and devoted my life to playing Call of Duty with people online till 4 AM but that would do little for my health or my marriage. I need to use this as a tool to push me to accomplish my goals.

So with that said I don't want a blog just about running, I want a blog that appeals to those that loathe running but share my desire to stay healthy. I want someone who just got diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes to come read my blog and say hey if that guy can do it then i sure as hell can. Thus I will share my running/race goals, I will discuss my cross training tools, my nutrition along with any other topic that I choose to with little or no concern about how I can tie it back to a central theme.

Now, those that know me also know that I have no filter when I talk and that means that I am sure to offend some of you some of the time. So if you are offended easy, take this a warning, but more importantly take what I say as an opportunity to start a discussion. Oh and to keep things PG-13 if I need to use foul language (sorry sometimes "gosh darn it" isn't strong enough to get my point across) I will use the vocabulary from one of my favorite movies Johnny Dangerously (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087507/) where to stay away from the dreaded R rating they used "Fargin Icehole" instead so as not to offend, but also not loose the intent.

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About Me

I am a 40+ year old, who until a diagnosis of Type 2 Onset Diabetes got my but of the coach I was living the sedentary live of over eating, over stressed, and little or no physical activity.
Now, 3 Half Marathons later, 2 Marathons (BAA 2009 & 2010), numerous small distance races I have started a journey to get control of my health and to reach my own personal fitness goals.
Since I can't sit still and I can't ever take the easy road, I thought I would share with you my adventure, my triumphs, my failures and my sarcastic way of looking at things.